The Oklahoma Hall of Fame was founded in 1927 by Anna B. Korn to officially celebrate Statehood Day, recognize Oklahomans dedicated to their communities, and provide educational programming for all ages. The first Oklahoma Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was held the next year, inducting the first two members into the hall of fame. In the 1970s, the

Hefner Mansion The Robert A. Hefner Mansion is a historic residence in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Built in 1917, from 1927 it was home to lawyer, Oklahoma City mayor, and Oklahoma Supreme Court justice Robert A. Hefner. It is located at 201 Northwest Fourteenth Str ...

was donated to the association to house the exhibits and busts or portraits of the inductees, and the organization changed its name to the Oklahoma Heritage Association in 1971. It then moved into the former Mid-Continent Life Insurance building in Oklahoma City in 2007 and opened the Gaylord-Pickens Museum with interactive exhibits. In 2015, the organization changed its name for the final time to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, in order to better represent the goals and mission of the organization. To be eligible for induction, an individual must satisfy the following criteria: * Reside in Oklahoma or be a former resident of the state. * Have performed outstanding service to humanity, the State of Oklahoma and the United States. * Be known for their public service throughout the state. In 2000, the rules were changed to allow for posthumous nominations. Portraits of the inductees can be seen at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

. As of 2020, 714 members have been inducted since 1928, with more inducted annually.

Notable inductees

* Jack Abernathy, United States Marshal *

Carl Albert Carl Bert Albert (May 10, 1908 – February 4, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and represented Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district as a ...

, member of U. S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma (1947–1977);

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

(1971–1977) *

Bill Anoatubby Bill Anoatubby (born November 8, 1945) is the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, a position he has held since 1987. From 1979 to 1987, Anoatubby served two terms as Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in the administration of Governor Overto ...

, Chickasaw Nation governor *

C.R. Anthony C.R. Anthony Co., stores branded as Anthony's, was a chain of family-owned and - operated upscale department stores founded in 1922 in Cushing, Oklahoma by C.R Anthony. The company began expanding outside Oklahoma, first into Kansas in 1924, the ...

, businessman * Hannah Atkins, Oklahoma State Representative *

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

, singer and actor inducted as an entrepreneur * Dewey F. Bartlett, Governor of Oklahoma (1967–1971) * Page Belcher, politician * Henry Bellmon, politician *

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

, baseball player * Clay Bennett, businessman *

Henry G. Bennett Henry G. Bennett (December 14, 1886 – December 22, 1951) was a prominent educational figure in Oklahoma. He served as the president of both Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma State University. He was appointed by President Harr ...

, educator * George S. Benson, missionary * James E. Berry, politician *

William Bizzell William Bennett Bizzell (October 14, 1876 – May 13, 1944) was the president of three American higher education institutions. He was the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, the president of Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas ( ...

, educator * G. T. Blankenship, Oklahoma State Representative * David L. Boren, Oklahoma Governor *

Lyle Boren Lyle Hagler Boren (May 11, 1909 – July 2, 1992) was a United States, U.S. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma, serving from 1937 to 1947 and was d ...

, politician *

David Ross Boyd David Ross Boyd (July 31, 1853 – November 17, 1936) was an American educator and the first president of the University of Oklahoma. Boyd was born in Coshocton, Ohio, and obtained a doctorate degree from the small College of Wooster, where he w ...

, educator *

Bill Bright William R. Bright (October 19, 1921 – July 19, 2003) was an American evangelist. In 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles he founded Campus Crusade for Christ as a ministry for university students. In 1952 he wrote The Four ...

, evangelist *

Anita Bryant Anita Jane Bryant (born March 25, 1940) is an American singer known for anti-gay activism. She scored four "Top 40" hits in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including " Paper Roses" which reached No. 5 on the charts. She was t ...

, Miss Oklahoma * Admiral Joseph Clark. World War II admiral * Woodrow Wilson (Woody) Crumbo. Native American artist * F. Hiner Dale, judge * Angie Debo, author *

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...

, NBA player *

Rachel Caroline Eaton Rachel Caroline Eaton (born July 7, 1869, near Flint Creek, Cherokee Nation) was believed to be the first Native American woman from Oklahoma to be awarded a Ph.D. Background Rachel's father, George Washington Eaton, and her mother, Nancy Eliza ...

, believed to be the first Oklahoma Native American woman to get her Ph.D. *

Gary England Gary England (born October 3, 1939) is the former chief meteorologist for KWTV (channel 9), the CBS-affiliated television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. England was the first ''on-air'' meteorologist to alert his viewers of a possible t ...

, meteorologist *

General Tommy Franks Tommy Ray Franks (born 17 June 1945) is a retired general in the United States Army. His last army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States military operations in a 25-country region, including the ...

, Iraq War general *

John Hope Franklin John Hope Franklin (January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009) was an American historian of the United States and former president of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Southern Hi ...

, historian * Gray Frederickson, Academy Award- and Emmy-winning producer * Rev. Gregory Gerrer, OSB, artist, museum founder *

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

, singer *

Sylvan Goldman Sylvan Nathan Goldman (November 15, 1898 – November 25, 1984) was an American businessman and inventor of the shopping cart. His design had a pair of large wire baskets connected by tubular metal arms with four wheels.Terry P. Wilson, ''Th ...

, inventor of the

shopping cart A shopping cart (American English), trolley (British English, Australian English), or buggy (Southern American English, Appalachian English), also known by a variety of other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a shop or store, especial ...

Thomas Gore Thomas Pryor Gore (December 10, 1870March 16, 1949) was an American politician who served as one of the first two United States senators from Oklahoma, from 1907 to 1921 and again from 1931 to 1937. He first entered politics as an activist for ...

, first U.S. senator from Oklahoma (1907–1921) *

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, American socialism and anti-fascism. He ...

, singer, songwriter and musician *

Harold Hamm Harold Glenn Hamm (born December 11, 1945) is an American entrepreneur in the oil and gas business. He is known for extracting shale oil resources. , Hamm's net worth is estimated to be billion, making him the 63rd wealthiest person in the w ...

, CEO of the oil company

Continental Resources Continental Resources, Inc. is a petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City. The company was founded by Harold Hamm in 1967 at the age of 21 as Shelly Dean Oil Company, originally named for Hamm's t ...

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

, radio commentator *

Lillian Gallup Haskell Lillian Gallup Haskell (December 12, 1862 – July 13, 1940) was the inaugural First Lady of Oklahoma. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1939. Early life Lillian Elizabeth Gallup was born on December 12, 1862, in Ottawa, Putnam ...

, inaugural First Lady of the state * Henry Iba, basketball coach * William S. Key, decorated veteran of both World Wars; Major general in the

Oklahoma National Guard The Oklahoma National Guard, a division of the Oklahoma Military Department, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It comprises both Army (OKARNG) and Air (OKANG) National Guard components. The Gover ...

and Warden of

Oklahoma State Penitentiary The Oklahoma State Penitentiary, nicknamed "Big Mac", is a prison of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections located in McAlester, Oklahoma, on . Opened in 1908 with 50 inmates in makeshift facilities, today the prison holds more than 750 male o ...

* Patience Latting, first woman to serve as Mayor of Oklahoma City and any U.S. city with more than 350,000 people; inducted in 1980. *

Eugene Lorton Eugene Lorton (1869-1949) was the long-time editor and publisher of the ''Tulsa World'' newspaper. Born in Missouri, he moved to Tulsa in 1911, where he bought a minority interest in the ''Tulsa World''. Within six years, he owned the newspaper ou ...

, longtime editor and publisher of the

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 20 ...

* Tom Love, owner, founder, and chairman of Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores * Wilma Mankiller, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (1985–1995) *

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

, baseball player *

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

, singer * Clem McSpadden, politician and rodeo announcer * Augusta Metcalfe, artist * James C. Nance, Oklahoma community newspaper chain publisher and former

Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The speaker exercises administrative and procedural functions, but remains a rep ...

President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate The President ''pro tempore'' of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking state senator. The Oklahoma Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-rank ...

and member

Uniform Law Commission The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also called the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, is a non-profit, American unincorporated association. Established in 1892, the ULC aims to provide U.S. states (plus the District of C ...

Jens Rud Nielsen Jens Rud Nielsen (22 September 1894 – 20 April 1979) was born in Copenhagen and was an esteemed physicist at the University of Oklahoma. He immigrated to the United States in 1922. He was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 1931. ...

, physicist *

Robert L. Owen Robert Latham Owen Jr. (February 2, 1856July 19, 1947) was one of the first two U.S. senators from Oklahoma. He served in the Senate between 1907 and 1925. Born into affluent circumstances in antebellum Lynchburg, Virginia, the son of a railroa ...

, U. S. Senator from Oklahoma *

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

, singer * Frank Phillips, oilman and philanthropist * Waite Phillips, businessman and philanthropist * T. Boone Pickens, oilman and entrepreneur *

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklaho ...

, humorist *

Charles Schusterman Charles Schusterman (1935–2000) was a Tulsa American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Samson Investment Company, a privately owned oil and gas company with oil field investments in the United States, Canada, Venezuela an ...

, businessman and philanthropist. *

Nan Sheets Nannine Jane "Nan" Quick Sheets (December 9, 1885 – September 1976) was an American painter, printmaker, and museum director. It has been said that she, along with Oscar Jacobsen, created the artistic community in central Oklahoma. Biography Bo ...

, painter and museum director *

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

, singer * Warren Spahn, baseball player *

Barry Switzer Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Footbal ...

, college football coach * Steven W. Taylor, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice *

Joseph B. Thoburn Joseph Bradfield Thoburn (August 8, 1866 – March 2, 1941) was an educator, civic leader, author, and historian. Education In 1893, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Kansas State University, and was largely self-train ...

, scholar of Oklahoma history *

Elmer Thomas John William Elmer Thomas (September 8, 1876 – September 19, 1965) was a native of Indiana who moved to Oklahoma Territory in 1901, where he practiced law in Lawton. After statehood, he was elected to the first state senate, representing the L ...

, U. S. Congressman and Senator from Oklahoma * Jim Thorpe, athlete * Sharen Jester Turney, American Businesswoman *

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single " Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bil ...

, singer *

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a p ...

, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts *

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and ...

, NBA player * Alma Wilson, first woman Oklahoma Supreme Court justice and chief justice *

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King) ...

, actor

References

External links

* {{Coord, 35, 29, 00, N, 97, 31, 34, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-OK Halls of fame in Oklahoma Oklahoma A Awards established in 1927 1927 establishments in Oklahoma